Isobel Glasen was so disappointed. She had been saving to buy the
shop next door to expand her dressmaking business and almost had
enough when she learns that the establishment had been sold. And to a
veterinarian! Her disenchantment turned to dismay when she learned
the new business owner's identity: Alec Russell, her former fiancé's
younger brother! Alec has come from Pittsburgh to Wyoming to open
his clinic because that's where his best friend, West McCall had
relocated. Alec had not known that was also where Isobel had
resettled. He's been secretly in love with her, but once again, he had
been relegated to second best, behind his brother Whitman. His clinic
would be successful, and the woman he married would choose him for
who he was.
Isobel was a secondary character in the previous books of this short
series and here is her story at last, in all its glory! Stacy Henrie's
powerful descriptive voice resonates like never before as we stroll
through Isobel's dressmaking business and as we learn what it was to
be a veterinarian in 1902 Wyoming. I love to read about the challenges
that ordinary people faced, and this book is a shining example of the
daily lives of small business owners. Isobel is a rather successful
dressmaker, but she longs for more personally and professionally, while
Alec needs to see his business thrive -- not only to show his own family
that he can but most of all to himself. He's felt insecure for too long,
and to his astonishment, it is Isobel who helps him. THEIR WYOMING COURTSHIP AGREEMENT has one of
the best starts to a romance that I have ever read. Isobel and Alec are,
understandably, somewhat ill at ease being in each other's presence
again, but they don't resort to childish behavior. They realize early on
that it is in their best interest to listen to the sound advice they can
give each other, and how they warm up to each other is so normal, so
matter-of-fact, that it is almost unbearably lovely to watch.
The Ride for a Bride race that brings about the courtship agreement is
based on a similar event that happened a few years later in the century,
which Ms. Henrie dutifully points out in the notes at the end. What
amazes me is that Stacy Henrie is so meticulous in crafting her story
and her characters, that every little detail makes the outcome of the
race entirely believable, and also provides the foundation for the
growth Isobel and Alec experience. And contrary to what you might
think, the race is not a fun-filled farce but a rather terrifying moment; it
also filled me with joy because it marked a turning point in Isobel and
Alec's relationship. I felt like I had the privilege of reading the diaries of
relatives from long ago and being privy to their lives as it really
happened. THEIR WYOMING
COURTSHIP AGREEMENT shows how a brilliant writer can turn the
ordinary into the extraordinary. " -- she was of worth because she was
God's child." And so was he.
The Sweetheart Arrangement
After two broken engagements, Isobel Glasen’s determined to
stay single—until a runaway horse makes her an accidental
entrant in the Ride for a Bride race. And her ex-fiancé’s
brother is the winner. With a successful business and a cozy
apartment, Isobel has a life as carefully constructed as the
beautiful gowns she designs. But now a fake courtship may be
the only way to quell town gossip.
New to town, Alec Russell aims to get his veterinary clinic
off the ground. Though he once secretly pined for Isobel,
he’s determined to escape his brother’s shadow and find a
woman who chooses him first. But could time spent together
provide a second chance—and turn pretense into the perfect
match?
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